The family of Jeff and Betsy Woytovich of Wyomissing is well-known within the Berks County community, but one family member recently became a real celebrity with the publication of a book that chronicles her story.

Madison Grace Woytovich, 15, known to most people as Maddie, is the subject of "Maddie: Teaching Tolerance with a Smile," an illustrated children's book written by Berks County author and teacher Sean O'Brien.

A high school classmate of Maddie's father, O'Brien got the idea to write a book about Maddie, the second of four Woytovich daughters, after writing an article about the family in 2012.

In simple language, the book tells of Maddie's journey since being diagnosed at age 5 with alopecia, a disease that causes hair loss. In Maddie's case, the hair loss was complete.

O'Brien wrote the book using the voices of Maddie, her parents and her sisters: Helena, Sofie and Amelia, who is known as Mimi.

The goal of the book, O'Brien said, is to raise awareness about alopecia and celebrate the strong spirits of Maddie and her family members.

"Their strength is the first key to my story," O'Brien said. "This is a very strong family."

Maddie, a sophomore at Berks Catholic High School, said she was completely caught off guard when she heard that O'Brien wanted to write a book about her and her family.

"I was shocked, but I also was excited because I hoped that it would help others to learn about alopecia," she said.

Her parents, who have been strong advocates for Maddie and other children with alopecia, also were receptive to the idea of the book.

"It helps people to understand, and that's what it's all about," Betsy said. "We hope the book can raise awareness in schools and maybe help reduce the incidence of bullying. Kids can see that kids who have alopecia look different, but really they're just normal kids."

Raising awareness has long been a goal of the Woytovich family, which decided early on to go public with Maddie's condition and become spokespeople to educate others.

"We never hid from it," Jeff said. "Maddie didn't hide, so we went out and hit everybody over the head with alopecia."

In 2004 they founded the Children's Alopecia Project (CAP), an organization that supports children with alopecia by bringing them and their families together for support and reassurance.

The organization has support groups in places across the United States and in several other countries.

The book was released in August at CAP's Alopeciapalooza, a yearly three-day camp for children and families affected by alopecia. So far, Jeff said, it has been met with great approval.

"Everyone loves it," he said. "It's been very well-received. Our reach is largely through Facebook, so we've had a worldwide response."

To date, the book has been sold in five different countries, Jeff said.

The book was illustrated by Melissa Lascala, a graphic designer who serves as art director for Berks County Living magazine.

The process of working with the Woytovich family and writing the book was an extremely rewarding experience, O'Brien said, and he is grateful for the opportunity to have done so.

"This is a special family with a special story," O'Brien said. "I am glad to have been able to tell it."